Ship Day Challenge Drabbles, 2013
by DKateri
Summary: An answer to the 10 drabbles in 10 days challenge for Ship Day 2013 on Gateworld.
1. Have a Little Faith

**Have a Little Faith**

**.**

"Come on, Carter. Have a little faith."

She looked down, dubiously regarding the liquid in the cup Jack passed to her.

"Really?" She eyed his cup, then the one Mitchell had abandoned. Memories of her previous visit were surprisingly clear. "They look the same."

Bringing it closer, she sniffed.

"Think of this as the kids' version," he smirked. "It won't go to your head like last time and make you take off your… oomph."

Sam withdrew the elbow that had unerringly met its mark, and cautiously sipped.

"If you're wrong…"

Jack leaned in. "Hey, if you can't trust your husband…"


	2. Busted

**Busted**

.

She sank against the front door, relishing the sound of the lock clicking quietly into place.

Home.

Bed beckoned, but the moment her tired eyes slid open, the soft glow of lamplight further along the hall drew her attention.

He should've been in bed, fast asleep, awaiting her arrival tomorrow.

Slipping nearer, she smiled on hearing his voice, felt her curiosity rise at the stray words she caught here and there.

"Carter... home soon… stuck with me…"

Peering inside, she found Jack idling by her favourite plant, doing what she'd never expected.

She wasn't the only one in safe hands.


	3. To Oz

**To Oz**

**.**

"Wow!" O'Neill stood rooted to the spot, transfixed by the sight before him. "I guess SG-9 aren't completely crazy after all."

Before them, in shades of green, the spires of a vast city dominated the skyline.

"Come on, Jack. SG-9 said these people are sticklers for punctuality."

Lowering his sunglasses, Jack absently waved Daniel and Teal'c on before sauntering over to his stunned second-in-command.

Indulging himself, he brushed close, savouring the rare contact. "You can't _not_, Carter."

He watched her bite her lip, duck her head, and felt his heart constrict when she beamed up at him.

"To Oz, sir?"


	4. It's Complicated

**It's Complicated**

**.**

"Carter?"

"We're working on it, sir."

Another explosion, far too close for comfort, rocked the room and rained yet more dust down on its five occupants.

"Uh, guys?"

"We're trying, Daniel. It's…"

"Complicated," Jack interrupted. "Yeah, we know, Jacob."

"Got it," Sam shouted after a final tweak of the controls, and before the door was fully open, they were racing for the hopefully still hidden Tel'tak.

"A little advice, Jack?" Jacob yelled, easily eluding guards too occupied by their rival nation's attack. "Next time someone asks Sam…"

"_So_ not going there right now, Jacob."

Despite their current circumstances, Sam snorted.


	5. Seeking Solace

**Seeking Solace**

**.**

Darkness shrouded their home when she finally pulled up outside, but she was glad of it, and of the near silence that accompanied it.

It was almost all she wanted after a day that had started out so well but ended so badly. A day where she had made it home safely but many hadn't.

Exhausted, she climbed from the car and headed for their front door. It opened before she arrived, and within seconds she was in his arms.

His grip was fiercely tight, his breaths profoundly shaky. His utter relief was palpable.

No… _he _was _all_ she wanted.


	6. A Moment in Time

**A Moment in Time**

**.**

With a hastily scrawled signature, he signed off on yet another report before distractedly answering the telephone.

"O'Neill."

For the briefest of moments all he heard was silence, but it was so complete it instantly set his heart racing.

"Jack, it's Hank."

Instinctively he knew, and for a second his heart literally stopped beating.

This was no personnel update, or word of some crazy SGC incident. This was the news he'd always dreaded.

In dazed silence he took in Hank's words, but the update on the Ori—on Merlin's device—were soon forgotten.

Stable was the word he clung to.


	7. Triumph

**Triumph**

**.**

"Remember, you guys take your time." Jack slammed the door of his truck, barely avoiding Daniel as he climbed inside. "Explore the town, see the sights. Maybe pick up one of those I Love Minnesota t-shirts Teal'c saw the other day."

Daniel turned to his friend in the driver's seat, but the Jaffa merely raised an eyebrow.

"Take your time."

"Yeah, you said that, Jack."

"Indeed!"

Jack thumped the roof of the truck as it roared to life, then stepped aside as it pulled away.

Triumphant, he turned, and found a half-amused, half-embarrassed Sam staring up at him.

"Too obvious?"


	8. Irregular Orbit

**Irregular Orbit**

**.**

Rules and regulations dictated the manner of their relationship, guided their words and actions.

But respect, trust, and extraordinary circumstances, soon relaxed those military protocols.

Lines blurred with the passing of time, and with each mission that exposed a little more of who they were.

A force shield, a Za-tarc machine, and alternate personas, betrayed how essential the other had unwittingly become.

Two zat blasts stressed the infinite dangers that created.

Year after year, through trials and triumph, love warred with honour and duty, alternately pushing them together before pulling them apart.

Until the day their worlds finally, irrevocably collided.


	9. Never Again

**Never Again**

**.**

"I can't believe you've never tried it."

"Mmm… shocking, isn't it?" Jack grimaced. "I guess my tastes run more to the traditional."

Undaunted, Sam merely raised an eyebrow and slid closer, grinning in amusement when awareness filled her husband's eyes.

"Sam…"

"You won't know if you like it if you don't try it."

"Sam…"

"Please?"

The softly spoken word was all that was needed, and knowing he couldn't refuse her now, Jack slumped in defeat.

Delighted, Sam lifted the spoon of blue jello to his lips, and expectantly waited.

His look told her it would never pass his lips again.


	10. Obsession

**Obsession**

**.**

"Jack… Jack?"

"Hmm?"

Pulling his gaze from Sam, Jack turned to face a highly amused Daniel.

"Are you listening?"

"Sure I am," Jack lied. "SG-15, weird alien rituals..." He waved his hand dismissively, but knew he didn't have a hope of adding anything beyond that.

"Sam?"

Jack happily returned his gaze to the cause of his distraction, but even without the slight blush and guilty look on her beautiful face, he knew she'd been neglecting Daniel and Teal'c as much as he had.

"Geez, guys," Daniel snorted. "You think you'd be a little less obsessed after eight years of marriage."


End file.
